Projected St. Louis Cardinals rotation and lineup after monstrous deadline additions
The St. Louis Cardinals pulled off one of the bigger trades of trade season, acquiring Tommy Pham and Erick Fedde from the Chicago White Sox in a three team deal also including the Los Angeles Dodgers.
St. Louis sent their injured utility man, Tommy Edman to the Dodgers in the deal, but acquired a solid platoon outfielder and a good starting pitcher in the process.
This deal definitely makes St. Louis a ton better, improving both their offense and their starting rotation in one swoop. But with these new additions, the lineup and rotation will switch around a little bit.
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Projecting Cardinals lineup after massive three team trade
Here's what the Cardinals lineup could look like with Tommy Pham in it:
Player | Position |
|---|---|
1. Masyn Winn | SS |
2. Alec Burleson/Tommy Pham | DH |
3. Willson Contreras | C |
4. Nolan Arenado | 3B |
5. Paul Goldschmidt | 1B |
6. Brendan Donovan | LF |
7. Nolan Gorman | 2B |
8. Lars Nootbar | RF |
9. Michael Siani | CF |
The lineup here is kind of hard to predict because it's likely going to fluctuate a ton.
The fact of the matter is Masyn Winn, Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Paul Goldschmidt and Michael Siani will play everyday. Other than those five, the other four spots will be matchup, health, and platoon determined. Tommy Pham, the team's newest addition, is slashing .255/.377/.471 against lefties, meaning he will be an everyday player against southpaws.
Beyond him, the Cardinals have a ton of lefties that can be slotted in and out depending on who's hot and who's healthy. As good as Alec Burleson has been this season, he's one of the worst left on left bats in the lineup, so I would imagine that he's the first one to be replaced with Pham as a platoon option.
Again, this is likely to move around a ton. This lineup is just a basic framework of what can be expected in St. Louis as soon as their newest addition gets to town.
Projecting Cardinals rotation after acquiring Erick Fedde
Here's what the Cardinals starting rotation looks like after acquiring Erick Fedde from the White Sox:
Player |
|---|
1. RHP Sonny Gray |
2. RHP Erick Fedde |
3. RHP Kyle Gibson |
4. RHP Lance Lynn |
5. RHP Miles Mikolas |
Acquiring Erick Fedde is a huge move for St. Louis. The former White Sox starter holds an impressive ERA of 3.11 with a WAR approaching five. He's recorded seven wins on the putrid White Sox team that is barely competitive when he's not on the bump.
Fedde slots in right behind Sonny Gray, the team's ace. ERA wise, Kyle Gibson and Fedde are similar to Gray, but Gray is their top dog and his sub-3.00 FIP proves that. If the season ended tomorrow and the Cardinals were in a win or go home situation, they would want Gray on the mound.
This allowed Andre Pallante to slot back into the bullpen, bolstering their long relief game up some as well.
The addition of Fedde was expected, but the move is still a massive one for the Cardinals. They don't have the star power in the rotation that some other teams do, but their top three of Gray, Fedde and Gibson gives them a chance in any series for the rest of the season.
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